Individual VS Numbers (Episode)
VS |Ko vs. Kazu}} is the fifth episode of Haikyū!! Karasuno High School vs. Shirtorizawa Academy High School, based on the manga Haikyū!! by Haruichi Furudate. The episode premiered on November 4th, 2016. The opening theme of this episode is Hikari Are by BURNOUT SYNDROMES and the ending theme is Mashi Mashi by NICO Touches the Walls. Overview The third set begins and ends quickly with a win for Shiratorizawa as they regain their momentum. Between sets, Ushijima criticizes Hinata for being unable to make up for his height with good blocking and receiving. As the fourth set begins, both teams maintain an even score as each of their techniques and skills gain points. Hinata manages to block a spike by using a running start to jump higher and begins to shift the momentum of the fourth set in Karasuno's favor. Plot As the teams are waiting to begin the third set, Tendō comes to the realization that Tsukishima had purposely left an opening for Ushijima to be able to spike through during the previous set; tricking him into thinking he would be able to get by only to be blocked. With Shiratorizawa having lost the second set, Tendō is quite concerned that their coach hasn't yelled at them yet. A moment later, Washijo calls Shirabu over. When Shirabu goes over, Washijo can tell what the setter is already thinking and does not say anything further. Shirabu heads back to the team and is teased by Tendō for still being alive. Shirabu remarks how he would surely have been punished if this game were a practice game and Tendō tries to comfort him by saying that tosses like the last one happen to everyone from time to time. Shirabu does not take comfort in this as he has come to see his last toss was not a simple mistake and promptly slaps himself with both hands, seeming to get himself out of his stupor. The third set begins with Daichi serving. Shirabu is quick to set Reon's receive to Ushijima and score. When the same repeats with Tendō's spike, Kageyama realizes that Shirabu is not letting the loss of the second set get to him and he seems to be more focused than he was before. Shirabu sees that Kageyama is observing him and thinks back to seeing the quick attack and how it made him dizzy just watching it. Shirabu reveals that he had always looked up to setters who played elegantly, such as Oikawa, but that changed in middle school. Shirabu has a flashback of a game he played during the Miyagi prefecture sport competition in middle school where he was praised by a teammate for his sets being the best he has ever done. He had watched as Shiratorizawa played against Kitagawa Daiichi where he had admired the Kitawaga players for their speed, attacks and elegance. Oikawa especially having captured his admiration. While he admired Oikawa's elegance as a setter, Shirabu quickly became more entranced with the pure strength and height Ushijima displayed when playing on the Shiratorizawa middle school team. It was at that point that Shirabu had vowed he would attend Shiratorizawa Academy with hopes to one day be a setter for the volleyball team and play with other strong players. His flashback ends as he sets another toss to Ushijima whose spike knocks over Nishinoya when he attempted to receive and wins the third set for Shiratorizawa. When Asahi tries to help Nishinoya up, he sees how frustrated the libero is becoming. Nishinoya openly admits that it is no secret that the taller you are in volleyball, the greater the advantage. But such a thing does not matter to a libero. With Ushijima being the biggest player before them, Nishinoya states that the only one equal to the ace is himself. The teams switch sides in preperation for the fourth set. Ushijima stops to speak to Hinata, stating that when he had seen Hinata's jump when they met he had believed Hinata would be talented in receives and blocks but now sees he was wrong. He points out that Hinata cannot fight with height and calls his playing style clumsy, shocking Hinata greatly. Ukai has the players rest on the bench as they go over what they will be doing in the fourth set. He believes they are getting use to being at the finals and getting use to Ushijima's spikes. He instructs them to always try to keep their blocks together as scattered blocks will not only result in unreachable receives but will also cause one player to be in the way of another. The players soon take their positions on the court to start the fourth set and Tsukishima takes the chance to tell Asahi of a plan he has. As Goshiki serves he is determined to get a service ace only to have put too much power into the serve as it goes out, resulting in annoyed reactions from his team and coaches. Daichi delivers the next serve that Reon receives over-handed. Tsukishima spots the pattern that has given Ushijima the most success thus far and a quick flashback of him telling his plan to Asahi reveals the two will block to tighten the path of a cross shot which will lead Ushijima to do another straight shot right at Nishinoya. Nishinoya gets the ball up with the determination not to let Karasuno lose. Asahi spikes past a double block to an open back space that gains them a point. Goshiki is once more scolded by Washijo for standing in a place that will not allow him to receive or follow with a one touch. Goshiki becomes nervous as it seems Washijo is not restraining when it comes to scolding him. Reon questions Goshiki why he believes that their coach is scolding him more and while Goshiki believes it is because he lacks discipline, Reon instead tells him it is because Washijo is counting on him most. This seems to calm Goshiki and inspire him to play even better. In the next rally, Tendō lands a spike when Tsukishima is unable to block in time. Tendō taunts Tsukishima by saying he is too slow and that blocking is of read blocking and following the scent of victory. Tsukishima instead voices he believes blocking is systematic. Hinata's next spike is received and the ball is tossed to Goshiki. Kageyama prepares himself due to Goshiki's sharp straight shots but is taken back when Goshiki instead deflects the ball off Kageyama's arm. Daichi reluctantly admits that Goshiki's shot was impressive but says Karasuno will just need to use another method to get the point back. With the score tied at 7-7, Shirabu sets to Ushijima but Tsukishima is able to get a one touch. Daichi receives and the remaining players launch a synchronized attack. Kawanishi surprises the Karasuno team by successfully blocking Asahi's spike. Takinoue and Shimada see this was possible because Kawanishi had seen that Daichi had not been able to get ready for the attack due to having received the previous spike. They soon hear someone comment how they should have been thinking the same way when they played in high school and they soon see their former coach, Ikkei Ukai, standing behind them. Takinoue, Shimada and Akiteru quickly bow as they greet him and Saeko informs Yachi the man is Keishin Ukai's grandfather. Ikkei teases how the three would always seem to just go for the ball without putting too much thought into their actions. He takes a seat and begins to watch the game while observing Washijo's lineup. On the court, Washijo criticizes how Karauno made the mistake of going for the ball all at once and not having anyone left to follow up. He sees how the strategies between his team and Karasuno are completely different but one thing they have in common is scoring points by force. At that moment, Tsukishima lands a spike and ties the score. Washijo sees the game between the teams as a battle of concepts and this is the perfect opportunity to see which is the stronger team. Daichi prepares to serve after he and Ukai nod to each other. Ukai voices over how they should try to restrict their attacks to the left as Ushijima may not participate in receives. Reon receives Daichi's serve and Ushijima is able to spike the set past Tsukishima and Asahi. Karasuno soon takes the point back and the score is tied once more. Asahi does the next serve. Goshiki receives but the ball is sent off. Yamagata sends the last hit to Ushijima while Tanaka, Tsukishima and Kageyama hurry to block and Nishinoya prepares to receive. Tanaka gets a one touch on Ushijima's spike and it flies toward the back of the court. In a small flashback, Ukai had advised that there may not be anything they can do with spikes like that but that they should do what they can to stop the rest. He had advised the center back to be positioned a step further back than normal if they would be able to get two or more blockers on Ushijima. Because their blocks with Tsukishima being the center are holding better than they thought, this is a method of receiving they should try. The flashback ends as Asahi is able to save the ball and Ukai pleads for the team not to let miracle saves from Hinata and Tanaka be the only ones they can manage. Daichi sends Tanaka the last hit and Tendō is able to successfully block. When Reon compliments his block, Tendō explains that because of the way Tanaka was standing and looking where to attack it was easy to determine where he would try to spike. With Shiratorizawa now leading by one point, Ushijima is next to serve. He gets another point when Asahi is unable to receive the serve. On Ushijima's second serve, Daichi receives. Kageyama sets to Tsukishima who gets past a double block from having aimed for Shirabu due to him being a low blocker. When Tsukishima goes to serve and Hinata rotates in, Tsukishima taunts Hinata by saying that the game will not get started if Hinata fails to score any points while he is up front. Hianta gets riled up by this though he does not argue back. Sugawara recalls that Ushijima had spoken to Hinata earlier and questions Tadashi if he knew what it was about. Tadashi repeats Hinata's claim of Ushijima stating "A shrimp that sucks like you has no reason to live." Sugawara is surprised by this but questions if Hinata didn't just imagine what Ushijima said. Tadashi says Hinata was certain in his claim and Sugawara wonders what Hinata will do at having been told something like that. Tsukishima sends his serve going right between Goshiki and Yamagata. The two are shown going to receive at the same time but Goshiki makes the receive though the ball is sent short. As Shirabu sends the ball to Reon, Hinata remembers how Ushijima stated he could not fight with height. Going to block, Hinata surprises Ukai when he looks to be making a running approach for a spike. Ikkei excitedly watches as he sees Hinata is using the run to add height to his block, giving him 'wings'. With the running momentum, Hinata is able to jump high enough to block Reon's spike and the ball lands on Shiratorizawa's side before Yamagata can save it. Saeko is impressed with Hinata's block and claims he should do it at every block attempt. Shimada quickly states that such a thing would not work as Hinata would not be able to handle a fast attack like that and Takinoue points out that, as a middle blocker, Hinata has already been moving around so much during the game and doing a running approach for every block would only drain his stamina. Shimada remarks how Takinoue always tried to be lazy during their time to which Takinoue proudly admits but silences himself when Ikkei hears. Ikkei muses how if he was successful at the task then he cannot complain. At Hinata's next attempt at a running approach, he goes too far and crashes into the net. He apologizes to the team as Daichi tells him not to mind it while Kageyama scolds him on not watching his speed. When Nishinoya rotates in, he delivers a message to Hinata. Ukai advised that the ideal jump is jumping straight up but, for now, he is allowed to go to the sides as well. Tanaka and Kageyama catch on to the plan and agree they will be there to support Hinata. They throw their plan into action in the next rally as Hinata begins numerous attempts at blocking. His first misses Goshiki's spike from not being quick enough but then gets a one touch on Tendō's spike before he quickly runs to the right side and spikes past Tendō and Reon. In the stands, Iwaizumi appears and finds Oikawa sitting in the top row. He recalls how Oikawa said that he would not come to the game as seeing either team win would infuriate him. Oikawa replies that he simply wishes to see the faces of the losing team. Iwaizumi begins to watch and sees Hinata moving around more than he usually does. Oikawa agrees but adds that such a thing, as well as being around Hinata like this, must be challenging. Tanaka soon scores when he deflects the ball off Tendō's arm. When Shiratorizwa receives Tsukishima's serve, Hinata quickly charges to where the ball was sent and jumps to block while being supported by Kageyama only for Reon to use the feint instead of spiking. Tanaka tries to spike the ball back but Tendō gets a one touch. Shirabu sends the set to Ushijima while Hinata jumps to help Tanaka with the block. With the added height, Hinata gets a one touch on the spike. As Kageyama positions himself to set Asahi's receive, he calls out to Hinata to not get worn out. Hinata proclaims that he will not as he rushes over to the right side. Tendō nearly follows but quickly jumps to block when Tanaka is sent the ball. Because of Tendō's delayed jump, Tanaka is able to spike past him and score. Ukai praises Tanaka for supporting Hinata and Tanaka recites a haiku: It's a senpai's job to always be there and help his precious juniors. Karasuno is now leading by one point when Saitō comments how Karasuno likes to attempt risky plays. As the teams catch their breath while staring each other down, Ukai goes over how if one's strength were determined by an individual's physical abilities, height and power, the game would not be as interesting. Debut Characters Locations Appearances Characters *Karasuno High **Shōyō Hinata **Tobio Kageyama **Kei Tsukishima **Tadashi Yamaguchi **Daichi Sawamura **Kōshi Sugawara **Asahi Azumane **Yū Nishinoya **Ryūnosuke Tanaka **Chikara Ennoshita **Hisashi Kinoshita **Kazuhito Narita **Ittetsu Takeda **Keishin Ukai **Kiyoko Shimizu **Hitoka Yachi *Shiratorizawa Academy **Wakatoshi Ushijima **Eita Semi **Reon Ōhira **Satori Tendō **Tsutomu Goshiki **Kenjirō Shirabu **Taichi Kawanishi **Hayato Yamagata **Tanji Washijō **Akira Saitou *Makoto Shimada *Yūsuke Takinoue *Saeko Tanaka *Akiteru Tsukishima *Ikkei Ukai *Tōru Oikawa *Hajime Iwaizumi Locations Episode Notes Character Revelations Trivia *The manga reveals that Shunki Kawatabi and Shirabu were teammates in middle school. Errors *Due to a possible typo or translation error, when Ukai reminds the team of how Ennoshita had chased after the ball in the game against Wakutani South, the subtitles state Kinoshita's name instead. Differences Between Anime and Manga *'Manga:' Set 3 ends with the score of 20-25. Anime: Set 3 ends with the score of 18-25. *Majority of the third set plays in the manga were not shown in the anime. *When Shirabu slaps himself in the anime, he does it in front of the team. In the manga, only Tendō is with him. *Before the beginning of the third set in the manga, Daichi gives a speech to the team that includes a flashback of the previous captain, Hidemi Tashiro, encouraging them to take any chance they can to get to nationals. This was not shown in the episode. *Shirabu's flashback to when he was playing in middle school happens when the set starts in the anime. In the manga, it takes place near the end of the set. *One of Shirabu's former middle school teammates is watching the game in the stands and marvels at how Shirabu was able to make his promise of going to Shiratorizawa happen. This was not shown in the anime. *In the manga, Washijō and Saitō discuss how not accepting Kageyama may have been a mistake. This was not shown in the anime. *When the teams are switching sides after the third set in the manga, Tendō sees Ushijima speaking to Hinata and comments how Hinata must be getting under Ushijima's skin. This is not shown in the anime. *In the manga, Ukai directly tells Hinata that if he believes he is too late when trying to block he should use the soft block. This interaction is not shown in the anime. *In the anime, Tsukishima is shown mentioning a plan to Asahi before the fourth set begins. In the manga, this happens after Goshiki misses his serve. *Manga only: after Washijo compares the two teams going against each other is a battle of concepts, Ukai has a brief flashback of himself when he was on the team while wearing the number 12 jersey. *The conversation Ukai has with the team about blocking and receiving takes place before the fourth set in the anime. In the manga, it takes place after Nishinoya digs Ushijima's straight spike as a flashback *After Kawanishi blocks Asahi during the synchronized attack in the manga, Tendō goes on to tell Semi that Kawanishi usually does read or commit blocking until he gets into a groove and then will rely on hunches. This was not shown in the anime. *After blocking Reon using the running approach in the manga, Hinata is shown falling onto Tanaka. *Manga only: Before Hinata crashes into the net, he has a flashback from the Wakutani game of when Ennoshita questioned him on the best way to make a decent approach. *Oikawa and Iwaizumi are shown in the stands watching the game before Ushijima's serve in the anime. They do not appear until after Tsukishima's return in the final set in the manga. *In the manga, Tanaka is shown recieving Reon's feint shot. In the anime, it was Daichi. Navigation Category:Anime Category:Season 3 Category:Episodes Category:Spring High Preliminary Arc Category:Article stubs